'Time Cells' in The Human Brain Encode The Flow of Time, Scientists Say

The human brain tracks the order of events.

According to research, the glue that sticks our memories together in the right sequence is the time cells in the hippocampus.

Evidence for these types of time cells has been found in rats, but for a long time, less was known about how the human brain works.

A team of researchers led by a neuroscientist from the Brain and Cognition Research Center (Cer Co) in France monitored electrical activity in the brains of 15 patients who had been diagnosed with sphenotypic sphenotypic sphenotypic sphenotypic s

The researchers said in their study that creating episodic memories requires linking together distinct events.

The hippocampus is an important part of sequence order learning and temporal order judgements.

During medical tests, the electrodes were used to locate the source of their seizures.

The research didn't require any implants that the patients wouldn't already be having for the purpose of prospective treatment for sphenoid disorders.

Participants were presented with a sequence of images and asked to memorize it.

During the sessions, the electrodes recorded specific neurons in the hippocampus firing in response to the experiment, both during specific moments as images were displayed, during gaps when no images were shown, and at pauses where participants were asked to predict what image would be shown next.

The researchers say that the neurons involved are evidence of time cells.

Some of the neurons were active when there was no visual stimulation, but they were also active when there was.

The researchers said that time cells were observed to fire at certain times.

The temporal signal appears to be evolving as a result of changes in the patients' experience during this time of waiting.

Time cells in the human brain are multi-dimensional and can respond to different types of sensory information.

The team thinks that the multi-dimensional behavior of these time neurons may be what records the 'what', 'where', and 'when' of experiences.

The phenomenon of subjective'mental time travel' is a cornerstone of episodic memory.

The ability to vividly recall specific events that happened at a specific place and in a specific temporal order is central to our experience of reliving the past.

The findings are published in a journal.

The story was first published in July of 2011.